


Phoenix

by drwhogirl



Series: Lucy Trainor [2]
Category: Doom Patrol (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:48:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25748410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drwhogirl/pseuds/drwhogirl
Summary: A big thank you to my wonderful beta Cheride
Series: Lucy Trainor [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1867765
Kudos: 2





	Phoenix

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cheride](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheride/gifts).



> A big thank you to my wonderful beta Cheride

Lucy had gone for a walk as soon as they got back to Doom Manor. Larry had taken Sophie inside and encouraged her to give Lucy the time she needed. That was all right for the first half an hour, until the storm started.

Larry had planned to go and find her, but Rita interjected. “Let me, I’ll get her to come back inside and speak to Sophie.”

“All right, but if anything goes wrong…”

“Yes, yes. I’ll come and fetch you if anything goes wrong.” Rita picked up an umbrella from beside the door and went out into the night

Lucy was sitting on a bench in the garden, already drenched from head to toe. She looked up when she heard Rita approach. “Rita?”

“How are you Lucy?” Rita asked, pausing for a moment before sitting next to her on the wet bench.

“Been better.”

“I was wondering if you would come back inside with me?”

“Why are you being nice to me? I thought you hated me.”

“I never hated you, I merely didn’t like you.”

“Oh, well that’s all right then.” Lucy replied sarcastically.

“What I mean is, that I didn’t like you then. I was concerned about how your being here would affect your grandfather.”

“Because of what dad did.”

“Indeed. I was there when it happened, and I wanted to ensure nothing like that would ever happen again.”

“What changed your mind?”

“Seeing how you reacted when your father told you what happened. I decided if you were upset enough to destroy a building then you must care about him as much as I do.”

Lucy nodded; she was about to say something but was interrupted by a coughing fit instead.

“How about we get you inside? You can warm up by the fire and maybe see what your girlfriend has to say?”

Lucy sighed; she considered correcting Rita and telling her that Sophie was her ex but decided against it. She was far too tired for any of this and really wanted to go to bed. Maybe if she pretended to listen that would be enough.

She stumbled to her feet and followed Rita back into the house. Someone had left a towel by the door for Lucy to dry her sopping wet hair.

“Lucy.” Sophie was standing in the doorway of the main living space. “Please can we talk?”

Lucy sighed again. “Fine,” she conceded, rubbing her eyes in an effort to relieve the pressure building up behind them. She sat on the sofa and waited to hear exactly what Sophie had to say.

“I’m sorry I lied to you. Believe me, I am. I never wanted to but… I wanted to keep you safe.”

“Yeah, good job with that.” Lucy ran a hand through her hair in frustration. “First you lie about every single aspect of your life, then you dump me when I need you the most and then the people you work for decide it would be fun to torture me. Twice. Why am I supposed to be forgiving you again?” Lucy pulled her hand away from her head, not noticing that some of her hair had come away with it. “I can’t trust you anymore Sophie. Is that even your real name?”

Sophie shook her head. “I’m not asking you to forgive me. I’m just asking you to understand why I did what I did. I gave up years of working to bring the Bureau down in order to rescue you. I don’t expect that to make up for what happened in any way, but I really do want to make things right.”

“What’s your name? Are you even a therapist?”

“No, I’m not really a therapist. I did a few semesters of psychology but that’s it. I’m a doctor. A medical one. My name from birth was Jessica Brown. It got changed to Sophie Miller when I was… enlisted, I suppose… into the Bureau.”

“Look, this is a lot to try and process. How about you stay here for the night and we’ll discuss all this in the morning, all right?” Sophie nodded.

“All right.”

“You can stay in my room.” Lucy turned to the doorway, where Rita was hovering. “Rita, could you show her where it is? I’m going to ask Grandpa if I can stay in his room tonight.”

“He’s already said you can,” Rita told her. “Come along, Sophie. I will show you where you’re sleeping.”

Lucy waited until they had both left before trying to summon the energy to get to her feet. She hadn’t felt this tired since she first came back to Earth and had to spend time getting used to the gravity again. Eventually she made her way to Larry’s room and knocked on the door.

It was a matter of seconds before he opened it and pulled her into a hug. He still had all his bandages on which suggested he had only just gotten back to the room himself. “How’re you doing?” He asked, ushering her into the room to sit on his bed.

“Honestly? Not great.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“It’s just this whole Sophie situation and I don’t feel anywhere near well enough to deal with it.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s nothing, just feeling really tired.”

“You’re a strong girl Lucy, you’ll be okay.” Larry reached out to stroke her hair, only for a clump to fall out in his hand.

Lucy sighed. “Don’t worry about that. It’s been happening since the base.”

“Lucy… you know what this is don’t you?”

“A sign of radiation poisoning? Yeah I know.”

“What’s happened? Why now?”

“Keeg was helping me out. I was subjected to a lot of radiation on Mercury. When Keeg found out we could communicate they explained everything.” Larry released Keeg to join in the conversation. He knew from the mention of the spirit he wasn’t going to like this and they would have some explaining to do.

“And everything is?”

“I needed a daily dose of negative energy to fight off the radiation, Keeg had been giving it to me every night but when we were separated at the base my condition worsened. It’s gotten to the point where it doesn’t matter if I forgive Sophie or not. I’m not going to survive long enough for it to make a difference either way. There’s nothing Keeg can do to reverse the effects only stop them taking hold in the first place.”

“So, do we have any options?” This was addressed to both Lucy and Keeg.

“I don’t think so. Nothing that could be done in time.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about any of this sooner?”

“I didn’t want you to worry. Keeg says you’re so stressed so often, and it isn’t good for either of you. We agreed we would only tell you if you needed to know.” Lucy shrugged. “And now you need to know.”

“What did you mean when you said there isn’t anything that could be done in time?” Larry asked, realising the significance of her words.

“Well, Keeg said that if we had more time, they have a… I think the closest word we have in English is niece?” Keeg nodded. “Yeah, a niece. Who could basically help me the way they help you, but there isn’t time to get her.”

“Well why not? What about Flit? Do you think she can manage it?”

“I don’t know. But… Grandpa, I don’t know how much longer I’ve got. A day? A few hours? I’m tired and I really don’t want to waste however much time that is on a fool’s errand.”

“You don’t know that it’s a fool’s errand. It might work.”

Lucy sighed in defeat, realising there was no way she would win this. “If we try are you going to let me die in peace?”

“I’m not going to let you die period.”

“Let me go and get a hat or something.”

* * *

  
“Is it safe to enter?” Larry looked up from the bag he was packing at the sound of Rita’s voice. “You’re leaving again,” she said, eying the bag distastefully. “I assume this is about Lucy? She’s sick isn’t she?”

“Very,” Larry told her truthfully.

“And you obviously seem to think you can help her.” Larry nodded. “Do I want to know what you have in mind?”

“Probably not.”

“She’s a sweet girl, I hope you’re going to do what’s best for her.”

“What do you mean? I’m going to make her better. Isn’t that what’s best for her?”

“That very much depends on what you have in mind, but there will undoubtedly be some kind of price to pay.”

“Whatever the price is, I’ll pay it.”

Rita sighed and moved to sit on his bed, patting it to indicate that he should sit next to her. After a moment, he complied. “The problem is, it’s not you that will end up paying the price. It’s her. So, whatever you have in mind…” Rita paused and picked up one of the spare rolls of bandages from Larry’s bag. “Particularly if you think these will be necessary. You need to make sure that you really are doing what’s best for her, not what’s best for you.”

“You think I should let her die,” Larry said coldly. Even without being able to see his expression, Rita could tell she was being glared at.

“I think, you need to consider the possibility that she might not want to be saved. Particularly not if your plan involves turning her into… into one of us.”

“We aren’t discussing this Rita.” Larry got up, turning his back on her.

“What exactly does Lucy have to say? What does she want to do?”

“Go away Rita!” Larry finally snapped.

He heard Rita getting to her feet. “Just… think about what I said.” Rita told him. “I only want what’s best for you. For both of you.” Larry didn’t turn until he was sure she had left, closing his door behind him.

He heard the door open again; this time accompanied by Lucy’s voice. “Is everything all right Grandpa? I just saw Rita and she seems upset. She said you would know why.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Turning towards her, Larry saw that she was now wearing a scarf wrapped around her head in an attempt to keep more of her hair from falling out. The deep red of the scarf in stark contrast against her now incredibly pale skin. “You ready to go?”

“Do you even know where we’re going?”

“No… Do you?”

“Keeg told me. There’s a planet called K2-18b, it has a portal to the negative dimension,” Lucy explained. “Given that it’s 124 light years away, I’m assuming you have an idea of how the hell we’re going to get there in the time I have left?”

“I’m going to ask Flit to help us.”

* * *

  
When Larry got to Jane’s room, he saw her standing by the window, painting something.

“Jane?” he asked tentatively.

“Jane isn’t here. I’m The Hangman’s Daughter.”

“Sorry Hangman’s Daughter. I was wondering if I could talk to Flit? I need a favor.”

The Hangman’s Daughter shook her head. “I’m painting, nobody else can take over until I finish my painting.”

Larry sighed. “All right, when you finish your painting can you get Flit to come and talk to me please?” The girl nodded.

“She should be ready in about an hour.”

Larry left her to her painting. He knew getting frustrated with any of Jane’s personas was pointless but he couldn’t help it. Between everything Rita had said and now Flit being unavailable for the next hour, it was beginning to feel very like the whole universe was against them. Before he even realized what he was doing, he had gone outside. The storm had cleared and the sky was now full of stars.

“Rita doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Larry finally snapped. “Of course, Lucy doesn’t want to die. She still has so much to live for.”

A light shone in Larry’s chest; it was a muted blue that Larry had begun to learn meant that Keeg didn’t agree with something he’d said. “What do you know? It’s partly on you, you know. The two of you don’t get to decide what I should know. You know every single thing that goes on inside my head and you get to keep secrets.”

The light developed a hint of purple, an apology. “You can apologize all you want, but she’s dying and we could have done something about it much sooner if you had done something. If you had told me, we wouldn’t be in this mess. Why the hell didn’t you suggest this idea sooner?”

A touch of pink. Lucy. “Lucy. What about Lucy?” The pink merged with red. “Lucy didn’t want you to. Well why not?”

The light went out and Larry found himself sat in Gary’s barn. He recognized where he was, and when. It was the night Paul betrayed him. Larry's mind raced to find a connection between their conversation and his current view. He didn't like the one he came to. “Does she think the same as him? That I’m a curse?”

“No.” Lucy’s voice came from behind him. “She doesn’t.” He turned to see Keeg, once again in the form of his granddaughter.

“Please don’t. I can’t talk to you in that form right now.”

“Is this better?” Before his eyes, Keeg had morphed into Sophie. Yes, this he could do. Sophie was a stranger. Strangers were easier to talk to. “Good.”

“So why did she not want to do this?”

“Because of us.”

“What?”

“She’s been living here for several months. She has seen first-hand how much you hate being joined with me. Do you really expect that to be a ringing endorsement for your plan?”

Larry was stunned into silence for a moment before saying in a quiet voice, “I don’t hate being joined with you.”

“Really? You could have fooled me, and you certainly have fooled her.”

“Look, we can work on that later. How do I convince Lucy she would be making a mistake not to bond with your niece?”

“I don’t think we can work on that later. Emki refuses to bond with Lucy unless she has Lucy’s explicit consent. Lucy won’t give that because you have convinced her that this… us… was the worst thing that ever happened to you.”

“So I just tell her it wasn’t?”

“That won’t be enough. Not unless you truly believe it. And I don’t think you do. I don’t think you ever have.”

Larry wanted to argue but couldn’t think of anything to say. In truth he had thought that. He had thought of Keeg as something terrible that happened to him. So many of the bad things that had happened to him seemed to be as a direct result of their merging. But if he really thought about it, so were many of the good things. Like Lucy, what were the chances that he would have ever lived to meet his brilliant granddaughter if he hadn’t merged with Keeg? His job was so dangerous and even if he had made it this long there was no way they would be as close as they are now. And he never would have met Rita or Jane or Cliff (although he wasn’t sure whether that one was a point for or against Keeg). He would have likely never been tortured by the Bureau, but he would have still found reasons to torture himself. Sheryl would still have left him and taken the boys with her; that had been a long time coming anyway if he were honest with himself and he doubted John would have put up with him much longer, either.

He realized that if he had managed to survive this long, he would have been in a much worse position. He probably would have been alone but instead he was surrounded by family. Because that’s what they are really. A family.

* * *

  
While Larry was having his crisis in the garden, Lucy sat in the kitchen. She had a coffee mug clutched between shaking hands and didn’t look up when she heard someone else enter.

“Would you like me to leave?” Sophie asked nervously from the doorway. She could see that Lucy looked terrible. She was pale and shaky, and all Sophie wanted to do was hug her. But she knew that was a bad idea. She wouldn’t say anything unless Lucy wanted to talk.

“No, it’s fine. Come and sit.” Lucy gestured to one of the chairs on the other side of the table. “I wanted to talk to you anyway.”

Sophie moved to sit opposite Lucy. “Is that the scarf I gave you?”

“Yeah it is. I have to know Sophie… Jessica… which do you prefer?”

“Sophie. Please.”

“Okay, Sophie. How much of… of us was true?”

Sophie considered the question for a moment. “I never lied about us. I lied about my past but I never lied about how I felt. The only things I ever lied about were my name and my job.”

“Why? Why didn’t you just tell me?”

“Because it would have put you at risk. That’s why I broke up with you. I hoped it would stop them finding you.”

“Did you really love me?”

“I still do. So much.” Lucy’s response was cut off by a coughing fit. “What’s wrong?”

“I have radiation poisoning. Grandpa has a plan but…”

“But you don’t know if you want to go through with it,” Sophie finished for her.

“You know me so well.” Lucy told her with a weak smile. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you before I left, in case I don’t come back.”

“Are you getting major deja vu right now?” Sophie asked, making Lucy laugh.

“Well everything I said before going to Mercury still stands.”

“Even that you love me?”

“That was never in question.” Lucy told her honestly. “What I was unsure about was whether I could still trust you.”

“Well, you come back from wherever you’re going and I’ll do everything I can to prove it to you. I’m still me.”

“We’ll see Soph. We’ll see.”

* * *

  
Flit took some convincing, but finally agreed to take Larry and Lucy to the planet. They didn’t know where the portal was, even Keeg wasn’t sure, so they were left in the general vicinity and given a couple of hours to find the portal before Flit would be back.

Larry was still reeling from what Rita had said and the conversation with Keeg, he wanted to dismiss it but he couldn’t deny that maybe they were both right. He was only looking at this from his own perspective, that of a grandfather who didn’t want to lose his granddaughter. But maybe Lucy wanted something else.

He considered the other thing Rita had said, about the price that would be paid. He wondered what Lucy would think, about whether she would think it was worth it.

“Why are you doing this?” Lucy asked after a while, from where she had sat to rest on a rock. “You seem to be more interested in keeping me alive than I am.”

Larry considered the question for a moment. He remembered what Rita said, how could he forget? “Because I love you and want you to be safe,” he explained, sitting down next to her.

“But what if being safe isn’t what I want?”

“What do you want?”

Lucy sighed. “I don’t know. I’m just tired… I don’t think I want much of anything anymore.”

“Lucy…” Larry stopped as something dawned on him. “I’m not going to force you.”

“What?”

“This, all of this, I’m not going to force you to do any of it. But think about everything you would be giving up.”

“I would be giving up a lot if I agreed to this. I would be giving up either my freedom or my humanity.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Everything you’ve told me, everything I’ve seen while living at the Manor. It’s just… It’s not what I want. There seems to be more bad than good. You outlive everyone you care about, you end up an outcast, and I just don’t think I could cope.”

“I wouldn’t have thought I could either. But you know, you also get to meet people you never would have otherwise.” Larry reached out and stroked her cheek and Lucy leaned gratefully into the touch. “Like the most amazing granddaughter anyone could ask for.” That pulled a weak smile onto her lips. “And the people who truly matter will always care about you, you could grow a second head and they would still be there for you. I know I will.”

“Thanks Grandpa.”

“So, what are you thinking?” Larry asked.

“I still don’t know. I don’t want to leave you alone, but at the same time…”

“Don’t worry about me. This isn’t about me. This is about you. I’ll always have Keeg so I’m never going to be alone.”

“What’s it like? Having them in there?”

“It’s… strange. It took a long time to get used to. But in the end, it’s also nice. You have someone else in your head that can see everything. Every thought, every memory.” Lucy made a face. “I know that doesn’t sound very appealing. But they know you, better than you know yourself. They know everything, and they still care. They want to keep you safe and happy and whole, because even when you don’t care about yourself, they do.”

“I didn’t think you two got along, for a long time.”

“We didn’t, but that was my fault. I wasn’t willing to accept their presence and it was tearing us both apart.”

“And now?”

“And now, we still have a way to go, but we’re getting there. If you wanted to do this, maybe we could even help you. We might even be able to find a way to keep our humanity while not needing to stay covered anymore.”

“Do you really think so?”

“There’s only one way to find out.” Larry paused before asking, “So, what do you want to do?”

“I’m still not sure. I don’t think I will be until the last possible moment.”

“Then we can wait. We can find this spirit and you can decide then. How does that sound?” Lucy nodded her agreement and Larry stroked her cheek one more time with his thumb before going back in search of the portal.

* * *

  
They had half an hour left before Flit was due to come back, when Larry finally found the portal. He went back to the rock where Lucy was sitting and helped her to her feet.  
“Grandpa… I need to know. If you’d had a choice… would you have done this?”

He held onto her gently as he looked intently into her eyes, considering his answer carefully. An old frustration surfaced briefly in his mind—he wished she could see his face right now, see his sincerity. He touched his chest briefly, hoping Keeg was paying attention, too. They might have known his thoughts earlier, but they deserved to hear the words.

“No,” he finally told her honestly, “I wouldn’t have. But that would have been a mistake. It took me a long time to see it, Lucy, but whatever you decide, you should know that in so many ways that matter, I’m better now than I was then. I am grateful.”

Lucy nodded. “Thank you… for everything. I think I’ll do it.” Larry pulled her into a hug, relief running through him before he helped her towards the portal. It was large and tucked away inside a cave. It reminded Lucy of a rippling pool of water.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Lucy, I do love you. You know that don’t you.”

“I know.” Lucy gave him a weak smile. “I love you too Grandpa.”

As they stepped through the portal, the duo was met by an entity in a room. The room had no furnishings except for a solitary chair. The only way in seemed to be the portal behind them.

The entity looked very much like Keeg. It was taller than Lucy, had red eyes and was primarily blue in colour with the exception of a violet tinge.

“Nice to meet you Emki. My name is Lucy.” The spirit must have said something because Lucy nodded. “Yes, I’ll… I’ll do it.”

The spirit gestured for Larry to move away from her and he hesitantly took a step back, leaving Lucy to lean on the wall.

Emki reached forward and placed a hand on Lucy’s forehead. The spirit flowed into her, causing Lucy’s eyes to light up that same violet blue. Larry stepped forward and steadied the girl. Before long, Lucy was able to right herself.

She moved over to sit on the chair and reached for Larry’s bag. She pulled out one of the rolls of bandages and started winding it around her arm.

Larry was slightly stunned but decided to follow suit. He pulled a bandage out of the bag and sat on the floor in front of her. “What made you change your mind?” Larry asked as he wound the bandage in his hands around her foot, making sure there weren’t any gaps.

“You did.” Larry expected her to say something else, but Lucy stayed quiet. She needed some time to process and Larry would give her all the time she needed.

* * *

  
It was past midnight when they got back to the house, but most of the household was in the lounge. When Larry entered the room, everyone looked up nervously. “She’s all right.” Larry told them, and he could feel all the room’s occupants let out a breath at once. “She wanted me to tell you all before she came in, in order to save her life, she chose to take a negative spirit.”

Lucy stepped through the doorway hesitantly. She was covered from head to toe in bandages. She was barely through the door when a tearful Sophie threw herself into her arms. The young couple were so wrapped up in each other, they didn’t notice Larry’s explanation to the others or when he sent them to bed.

“I’m so glad you’re all right Lucy.” Sophie told her, kissing her cheek before going to bed herself.

* * *

  
“Hey, who’s the blonde?” Cliff asked as he walked into the kitchen the following morning. He had wanted to ask the night before, but even Cliff realised it wasn’t a good time. Sophie was sitting next to Lucy at the breakfast table while Larry made them some pancakes.

Lucy took another sip of her coffee before answering. “This is my… ex-girlfriend? Sophie.” Lucy explained, Sophie gave him a slightly uncertain wave.

“Does being gay run in your family or something?” Cliff joked.

“I’m sorry?” Lucy placed her mug down on the table.

“Oh fuck. You didn’t… I thought you knew.”

“I hadn’t gotten round to telling her yet.” Larry told him, bringing over the plates of pancakes.

“Fuck. Sorry Larry.”

Larry didn’t respond; he was watching Lucy instead. He knew he was being paranoid, that she would obviously be fine with it. She was sitting having breakfast with her ex-girlfriend after all. But even so. “I know this probably isn’t how you wanted me to find out.” Lucy paused, trying to think of the words. “And I’m not going to ask why you didn’t tell me, because I know how difficult that is. Even people you think will accept you don’t always.” She reached out a hand and placed it on top of Larry’s. “As far as I’m concerned it doesn’t change a thing, but if you ever want to talk about it, you can. I know what it’s like and so does Sophie. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind talking to you if you would rather speak to someone you don’t know.”

“Of course not. And I have lots of books that you are welcome to borrow. Written by people in the LGBT community for people in the community.”

“Thank you, both of you.”

“Maybe the three of us should go to Pride next year,” Lucy joked.

“Yeah!” Cliff’s voice made her jump, having forgotten he was still there. “We could all go. And I could bring Clara and Mel and the baby. I’ll go tell the others.” Cliff left the three stunned people in his wake.

“So wait, are we actually doing Pride now?” Sophie asked.

“Apparently so.” Larry didn’t sound too enthusiastic about that idea.

“I think that’s something we should build up to.” Lucy undid a pin that was attached to one of her suspenders, a little rainbow flag. “Let’s start with this.” She reached over and attached it to the collar of Larry’s coat. “There, perfect.”

* * *

  
The Trainors soon retired to what was, at least for now, their shared bedroom. A cot had been moved into Larry’s room for his granddaughter and they were going to share a room until either they managed to get the radiation under control or Lucy’s room was made safe for her to be in.

They sat down to talk while they ate their breakfast. “Do you know where we start?” Lucy asked.

“I don’t. It took Valentina five years of isolation and the loss of her individuality to master.”

“Great. I might have liked to know that before I agreed to this you know.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

* * *

  
One morning a couple of years later, Lucy woke to a blissful silence. At first, she didn’t realize what was different. Then it hit her, the Geiger counter. The one they kept in the corner of her and Larry’s room. It was silent. She sat up and saw Larry stood in front of the mirror.

He looked different. The burns that used to cover his skin were gone. They had been clearing up gradually over the last few months but it was like someone had flicked a switch overnight. He looked just like the photo Lucy used to keep in her jacket.

“Oh my god,” She whispered, causing Larry to jump. He turned to look at her with startled blue eyes.

“The spell worked.”

Lucy couldn’t help the grin on her face. “The spell worked.”

* * *

  
Lucy got dressed and went to knock on the door of her old room. Sophie had moved in officially a year and a half ago.

The blonde was still wearing her pajamas and her hair was still adorably mussed. She barely had time to register that Lucy was stood in front of her before she was being pulled into a kiss.

“Breakfast,” Sophie whispered against Lucy’s lips. “We should eat something.”

“Later.” Lucy gently pushed her into the room and closed the door behind her.

* * *

  
Meanwhile, Larry had decided to go and get some breakfast. He considered putting the bandages on. He didn’t need them, but he was nervous. It had been six decades since he had last been able to leave his room without them. He fingered the pride pin on his coat and decided to just do it.

He was cooking some of his famous chocolate chip pancakes when he heard a voice from the doorway.

“Hello…” Rita sounded a little uncertain, not that he blamed her. He looked very different.

“Morning Rita,” he greeted her cheerfully. “Want some breakfast?”

“Oh my god. Larry!” It was a good thing he had already put down the pan in his hand because the next thing he knew, Rita had thrown herself at him. “You look amazing.” She reached a hand up and ran it through his dark hair.

“Looking good yourself Rita,” he hugged her back and couldn’t help the grin on his face.

Rita composed herself after a moment. “You know, I can really see the resemblance between the two of you now.”

“You mean you couldn’t when we were both covered in bandages?” Larry teased, earning a laugh from Rita.


End file.
